mthorman

I have Brent Peter's book and like it, but it sticks to mostly classic waterfalls. There are a few mixed routes but mostly just a small mention of single pitch stuff right near a classic waterfall line. If you want to do alpine mixed climbs definitely look for Joe's book. It is WAY more comprehensive! Good luck finding a copy!

Pretty close to what I do as well. I have found that mountain-forecast is usually pretty close with temps and major events, but very off with amount of precip or with marginal days (basically if it is iffy it could be nasty or sunny). I have repeatedly found that the snowfall amounts forecasted are drastically lower than actual amounts. For me I double whatever their snowfall amounts are and it seems pretty close. The other tool I like is the forecast discussion on NOAA. For example here is the forecast discussion for tstory's link (there is a link right under the map called "Forecast Discussion"). It is a much wider focus and talks about a whole region rather than local/specific location, but there is so much more information in there. It can seem a bit confusing to read but it really isn't that bad once you start to understand the basics. http://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=SEW&issuedby=SEW&product=AFD&format=CI&version=1&glossary=1 Also I would recommend reading this book. Anybody who spends a lot of time in the outdoors will benefit from being able to better understand weather. I learned a lot from this book and feel like it helps me understand forecasts as well as look at current conditions for changes. http://www.amazon.com/Mountain-Weather-Backcountry-Snowboarders-Mountaineers/dp/089886819X

jfs1978 is right. If you look at the way they attach, the clip model has two extra posts at the front that are vertical to allow for the clip to rivet in place. So unless you are handy at welding those 2 posts on the front or change the location of where the clip attaches you are out of luck. You might be able to rivet the clip strap into the same holes you use for the wire bail, but I wouldn't recommend it. I think that would make it too low and far back from the toe. Just sell your Pro versions and buy a clip version. With a little patience looking through MP and CCC for used versions you probably won't even lose that much money on the deal.

Cool thread! I'll add.. Titties & Beer - 5.8 at Looking Glass, NC (even the guidebook calls it "World's Hardest 5.8")

Sent you a pm.

Way to get it done in a day! It looks very clear over there....I guess I just figured it would look more like the east side which is VERY smokey.

I went up the SW Couloir last year. We summited on July 30, 2014. We brought 1 pair of crampons between 2 of us and an ice ax a piece. There was a section about 50 feet long in the couloir that had snow but I scrambled around it without much trouble. On the way down we came down the snow because we felt it would be easier than down-climbing the steep 4th class rock to the sides. This year is drier (from what I have heard) and you will be a couple weeks later than we were last year. If you are pretty comfortable scrambling rock I would leave the ice ax and microspikes at home. Good luck, it is a beautiful area!

I have had this route on my list for several years. Finally I scheduled some time, found a willing partner, and hoped the weather would be good. I met Duncan at the trailhead the night before and we made some last minute gear decisions before getting a few hours of sleep. By 5am we were hiking up through the mist towards Boston Basin. We past the bivy sites and this is where it started to get interesting. Neither of us had been over on the Taboo Glacier or Torment before and with the thick clouds we couldn't see more than a couple hundred feet max. We made a few ups, downs, and arounds, but finally managed to get onto the Taboo glacier on the far left side. It wasn't too broken up right near the cliff and after a little while longer of hiking through the clouds we found the gully to the notch in the South Ridge. Duncan on the approach during a brief clearing in the clouds where you could actually see a little. From the notch we roped up and climbed 2 simul pitches to the upper notch where we crossed over to the SE Face. A quick scramble later and we reached the summit of Torment. It was about 11:30am and the clouds were starting to break up. Also we found that the north side valleys had no low clouds. The view from the summit of Torment looking north. After a short break we climbed back down the SE face then contoured over to the notch. The rappel looked pretty straight forward although the glacier below looked to be pretty broken up. Duncan getting ready for the rappel onto the glacier. Once on the glacier we studied our options. There were faint tracks that went down and over the lip of a large crevasse then came out the other side. The only problem was we only had 1 60m rope and it wouldn't be long enough. We looked at trying to avoid the glacier all together and traverse the rock but that didn't look enjoyable. Finally we decided to extend the anchor that was already there by 20 feet of cord which would give us just enough rope with our 60M to rap into the crevasse. Duncan rappelling into the crevasse on the glacier. Getting off the glacier also proved a touch tricky. Where we thought the "normal" spot was there was a moat that was 15 feet wide and 40 feet deep. So we crossed over to the rock much higher and had a short pitch of mid 5th class traversing above the moat/glacier and below a snowfield to get to the easy ledges. Looking back to the glacier and Torment. We rapped through the upper large crevasse, and then exited the glacier where the snow touches the rock in the center of the photo. Taking a short break after exiting the glacier. After some easy simul climbing we reached the snow and ice traverse. It looked pretty melted out but we could see faint footsteps so we gave it a try. Our first look at the snow/ice traverse. The first section of the traverse wasn't too bad. We soloed across a couple of cracks and then headed straight up the snowfield. The plan was to traverse across near the top (following tracks ahead of us). There was some softer snow over hard stuff and it made for decent although careful frontpointing. Crossing over a rock band we attempted to gain the snow again. The consistency was much worse however. We hadn't brought any pickets and didn't trust the quality for screw placement. Or maybe it was the thought of traversing another 200 feet with only 1 ice ax. At any rate we wimped out and just continued straight up for the ridge where we found loose but easy climbing. Duncan at the beginning of the traverse. We made 2 raps off the ridge to the south side and then followed ledges passed the next large gendarme. 1 pitch of easy climbing brought us to a prominent notch and a nice bivy spot. It was about 6pm so we decided this would make a great location for the night. Unfortunately the clouds came back in and sun down was less than dramatic. The sun piercing through the cloud layer later in the afternoon. After some dinner we watched the clouds for awhile and then turned in. The next morning we woke to a cold wind but a spectacular view. We were between cloud layers. Morning views from our bivy looking south. We got packed up and scrambled over to the base of the next gendarme. I led out up and left around it. On the other side I found a rap station and we made 1 rappel back down to the ridge crest. Duncan leaving our bivy spot. From here we stuck right on the ridge crest and enjoyed the exposure and quality of the rock. It was 3 simul blocks to the end of the "sidewalk" where we made 1 short rappel to the south to ledges below. Duncan just about to cross over the "sidewalk". A short walk and we reached the notch at the base of the West Ridge of Forbidden. We opted to continue carrying our packs and descend the East Ledges. We made the decision partly because neither of us and been up or down the gullies leading to the west ridge and also partly because we wanted to avoid the congestion that everyone talks about on the West Ridge. From the notch we climbed the west ridge in 2 simul blocks. It was great climbing with good exposure and definitely the highlight of the traverse for me. Overall on the traverse the rock quality seemed to just get better the closer you got to Forbidden Peak. Duncan on the West Ridge of Forbidden with the traverse in the background. The descent down the east ledges was straight forward and easier than its reputation. I had done it before (after climbing the east ridge) so it helped to know the way. We made 6 raps with our 60m rope then walked ledges over to the gully. A quick scramble and we stopped to put away all the climbing gear. From here it was a nice scramble back down to the bivy ledges. The weather just kept getting better and we were treated to amazing views from Boston basin. We made quick work of the trail and reached the cars and biting flies around 3pm. Johannesburg as seen from Boston Basin. Gear Notes 6 cams, 10 nuts, lots of slings (singles and doubles). Didn't need that many nuts, and needed more slings for the simul blocks. I had one ice ax, and Duncan had two. He definitely felt more secure on the portion of the ice traverse that we did. Had a couple screws but never had the opportunity to place them. Could have protected the traverse with pickets if we had brought any.

Really awesome trip report!! The Pickets are such an awesome mountain range that sees so little traffic. I definitely would love to get on a traverse like this. Good work and great photos!

The rap station on the ridge was in good condition. There were several cords, and most looked newer. All of the rappel stations for the East Ledges descent were also in good condition. We actually rappelled 6 times instead of the 5 in the guidebook (all with a single 60M rope). But the ledges that we followed were fairly easy and straight forward. There wasn't a lot of times where you needed to scramble or use your hands. It was mostly just walking carefully along ledges being aware of solid foot placement. It definitely went a lot faster than I thought. Maybe 1.5hrs from summit to notch at base of east ridge.

It was a great climb, up an awesome line. Here are a few more pics to go with the TR. A good look at our objective. I had never been into Boston Basin before and it was truly inspiring. There is definitely a lot of up and down on the east ridge as is evidenced by this picture. Taylor making his way up the final snow slope above the gully. Magnificent views of Johannesburg mountain in the background. Our bivy, a couple hundred feet below the 1st gendarme on the East Ridge. I think the elevation was about 7,850 feet. Plenty of room to stretch out and enjoy the views while eating dinner. We had beautiful weather for the actual climb and just enough breeze to make it pleasant. Here is Taylor negotiating a gendarme. Taylor higher up on the East Ridge.

I climbed the SW Rib yesterday and descended the S Arete. Didn't see a rock shoe at the base of either route. Lots of other people up there so maybe somebody else got it. Just didn't want you to hike back up there for nothing.

Nice job! I really enjoyed reading your trip report and seeing the photos. It brought back many memories from my trip (we summited on May 27 this year). So I am sure we crossed paths with you somewhere on our descent. I am really glad we didn't have to spend 4 days waiting for weather to fly out. That would have been BRUTAL! We summited on Day 17 and flew off on Day 19. Anyway congrats again, it was a rough start to the season up there, and way to hang in there for a 2nd summit attempt.

I am looking for a partner for July 3 (next Friday). I will be coming down from Eldorado on Thursday and have to be in Spokane on Saturday. So a longer route at Washington Pass or Leavenworth would be the best. Could also do Index or something else in the N. Cascades for a day. Happy to lead up to 5.9 alpine or follow 5.11. PM or email (westbnsf@gmail.com). Marlin

Wow! I can't believe the Pocket Glacier is gone already. It isn't even July!! Looks like Slesse might get a lot of traffic this season!

Oh my word! I just flew off the Glacier with TAT on Friday. What a bad way to end a climb! I am glad nobody was killed.

I did Gerber Sink yesterday and things were just near perfect. However yesterday was much colder and coming off a couple of cold/storm days. I suspect things will be soft today through the weekend. You would probably be fine tomorrow on Triple Couloirs as it is more of a snow than ice climb. I would just go really early in the morning (we topped out at 9:30am in March when climbing Triple Couloirs). Good luck!

Yea! Way to solo it....good beta on temps too!

Nice job sticking it out! Did you use/need snowshoes at all for the approach?

I haven't been up there yet, but check out this data from Paradise. SNOTEL Data for Paradise Note: you have to uncheck the "Fit Table to Screen" box or it will only show a couple days instead of all 30. Basically the snow pack has gained multiple inches at 5,100 feet on Rainier over the last 30 days which is a very good sign. However interesting to note that the precipitation accumulation is 104% of average for the year but Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) is only 38% of average. So to my untrained eye they have gotten the normal precip but it has been in rain instead. I wonder at what point in elevation you would have to go to get the SWE to come up towards 100% to match the precip accumulation. Edit: After browsing through other Stations in the Cascades, I found that the stations at 6,000 feet had higher snow water equivalents (50-75%). So obviously still down but better than in the 30% range.

Nick, see Jason's post about the approach beta. Goran, there isn't a particular good winter line that I know of. We were looking at something on the south face/buttress or a backup plan of the NE Ridge. Either way it would have been some mixed fun!

Trip: Eldorado Peak, NW Ice Couloir Date: 4/10/2015 Trip Report: With a couple days off and a small weather window Duncan and I set our sights on Eldorado Peak. Our main objective was the Northwest Ice Couloir but with such a long approach we decided to try something on Dorado needle as well. Unfortunately we made a grave error in judgement and didn't bring skis or snowshoes. As a result were were postholling from ankle to knee the entire way above 5000 feet. It slowed us down so much that all we ended up doing was the NW Ice couloir. Oh well, I guess lesson learned. Looking down the Eldorado Glacier on the approach. Johannesburg and other mountains in the North Cascades dot the skyline. We had gone light on gear to save weight so no tent. But Duncan brought this little tarp and we made quite the cozy camp. We camped at the base of the east ridge of Eldorado and spent an hour watching the mountains and resting. For the afternoon we took off to see about climbing Dorado Needle. But with the hard work of breaking trail it took us 2 hours to get to the col at the Tepeh towers. We looked over at Dorado and realized that it would just take too long to keep going. We wanted to be fresh for the NW Ice couloir the next day. Since we still had a little time we decided to break trail to the Eldorado-Dean Col to save time in the morning. Here Duncan breaks trail across the Inspiration Glacier. Duncan overlooking the Marble Creek drainage from the Eldorado-Dean Col. We found the gully to down climb and then returned to camp for the night. During the night the wind picked up and starting blowing snow into our little shelter. We were a little worried that maybe the predicted storm had come early, but just after 6am we were treated to this sunrise in the North Cascades. It was definitely overcast but it didn't look like the big storm front. We left camp about 7am and followed our tracks back to the Eldorado-Dean Col. After down climbing a bit we found a rap station with some old pitons. A single rap but us down to steep snow. From there it was a short traverse through deep snow to the base of the couloir. Finally getting close to the base of the route we could see it was full of snow. The final snow slope to access the couloir was deep powder and took awhile to break trail. Finally reaching the 1st constriction we stopped to get a stance. I put in a screw and started out on the lead. I quickly climbed into the clouds and fought spindrift all the way. We ended up doing it all in 1 long simul block. It was mostly knee deep snow with a few nice sections of neve and a couple ice steps. There was no mixed climbing although there were a couple of snow/ice gullies up to 4 feet deep. Near the top there was a junction and without being able to see more than 30 feet due to clouds I picked the right gully. It turned near vertical at the top with breakable crust over soft snow. Here Duncan follows up the last steep section to the top through the clouds. From here it was easy hike to the summit of Eldorado. As luck would have it the sun was out on the summit and down the east ridge. Spent a few minutes enjoying the view before returning to camp. Packed up and headed back to the car. Gear Notes: 6 screws, 3 cams (BD #1, 2, 3), 6 nuts. Used 4 screws and 3 cams. Approach Notes: Lots of deep snow. Don't make our mistake and take some kind of floatation.

I would, but I am headed up to Eldorado's NW Ice Couloir instead. Too many good routes and not enough time!

Nice guys! I was justing thinking about this route yesterday!

Wow, very impressive! Great job on accomplishing this goal.